WEEKLY WORKOUT: BOSU Blast

Jen Kees has been in the fitness industry for more than two decades. She’s seen it all and taught it all. So when she says she dreams about a piece of fitness equipment — you know it’s special.

“My dream gym is like a wrestling room and you walk in and it’s just BOSUs everywhere,” she says with a big laugh.

“BOSU” stands for “both sides up” and no matter which way you use the squishy blue dome, it challenges your strength and balance.

“I think that when you come to the gym you should be working things that challenge you, that don’t challenge you outside the gym,” Kees says, “if we take something like BOSU and practice that, then maybe we’ll be more balanced in our daily life.”

This “BOSU Blast” class has a little bit of everything. Jen’s handling the cardio sections, where we do everything from step aerobics choreography to some serious running and jumping.

Instructor Cari Jones shows us how the BOSU makes a great resistance tool, whether you pick it up or leave it on the floor and use your own body weight.

There’s also a “lily pad” drill that tests our agility in a new way. Balance is the big focus as we bounce from BOSU to BOSU and it’s critical during partner abdominal drills. If you move a muscle too fast or in the wrong direction — you’ll end up on the floor.

It’s easy to see why Jen Kees loves the BOSU so much, the possibilities are just about endless, and that’s every personal trainer’s dream.

“So many things are so high impact on the floor, the ground, the treadmill…I love that BOSU takes us into a whole different perspective on how to hold our body weight, how to carry ourselves, how to think a little lighter in our joints.”